


Stalemate

by JasnNCarly



Series: Claudia and Jason [2]
Category: General Hospital
Genre: Drabble, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-11-27
Updated: 2009-11-27
Packaged: 2020-05-19 05:47:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,001
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19350730
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JasnNCarly/pseuds/JasnNCarly
Summary: This story is AU, building upon my drabble “Persistent Past”





	Stalemate

His feet seemed to be sinking into the concrete as she rose from the bench, her dark ovals piercing his deep blues. Moments like these were what kept him running, what he thought would keep her running.  
  
Everything around them stilled, nothing mattered. It struck him like a fist to the gut, the way her presence still froze him as it had so long ago.  
  
They had been living separate lives then. He had escaped Sonny after the betrayal with Carly, forgetting everything but the world of Michael’s books. She had abandoned her family entirely, never revealing her reasons other than hints of abuse as a child – her only love for a younger brother far away.  
  
With that, it had been easy for them to explore the ancient lands, far from the corruption attributed to them because of their jobs and their names. Yet as they shared shabby hotel rooms and passionate sex, they had remained a mystery to each other – giving only tiny doses of their true personality.  
  
Fast forward to the present, a meeting outside of Port Charles city limits where they met again under different circumstances. Instead of sharing a few months of happy exploration, they faced off as enemies – neither of them unclear of what was at stake…all of it more important than anything they had ever shared in the past.  
  
She took a few steps toward him, sliding her hands into the pockets of her brown leather jacket, “Here we are.”  
  
Her voice hitting the crisp afternoon air did little to distract from memories he wished he could erase. Her dark black locks had driven her nuts on their boat ride in Venice, the sun had danced on her olive skin in Africa, and her body had looked irreplaceable in any moonlight.  
  
He shut it off as best he could, giving a firm nod, “Here we are.”  
  
Her laugh came out as a low hiss as the point of her boot dug into the moist dirt, “I’m not going to tell anyone about our time together, Jason.”  
  
“Wouldn’t matter if you did, it doesn’t change anything.”  
  
“Oddly,” She awarded him a slight smirk, “I knew that about you.”  
  
“What do you want me to say?”  
  
“You could start with why I’m here.” Moving in a little closer, she placed a hand on his chest and fiddled with the black cotton fabric, “if it isn’t about us…”  
  
As much as Jason wanted to react, forget the reality only miles away, he did nothing but gently remove her hand, “You know why I’m here.”  
  
“All right,” Backing away, more cocky than confident, she opened her arms with a dare, “Off me then.”  
  
“You need to leave Port Charles, Claudia.”  
  
“No can do.”  
  
“This isn’t a game.”  
  
“Oh, but I think it is. A huge one! That I plan to win.”  
  
“You have no idea what a mess your family made.”  
  
“Unlike your buddy Corinthos, huh?”  
  
“You father’s going to pay for what he’s done.”  
  
“Agreed. But my brother isn’t. And he’s not going to lose the business because of our psychotic father.”  
  
“Sonny isn’t going to give. You’ll leave on your own or you’ll have to be dealt with.”  
  
“I welcome any kind of drama Corinthos brings because I refuse to leave Johnny again, especially to people like him!”  
  
“Sonny wants both of you gone.”  
  
“Oh, well then, let me just pack up our things and we’ll leave with our tails between our legs.”  
  
“I don’t want this to end badly.”  
  
Rather than retaliate, her expression registered a painful understanding. The last thing she wanted was to meet him again, to become anything more than a fond 'once was'. But the call had come, she did not have a choice – she had to return to the family she despised for Johnny’s sake.  
  
Claudia could easily recall things about him, the ghost of a smile he revealed when truly embracing life rather than getting through it. The occasional laughter he let out when buzzed on shots or incredibly tired. The way she could lay with him for hours, listening to his heartbeat to ensure he was real. They had talks, leaving more questions than answers, yet she felt they understood each other – until now.  
  
Frustrated at her recollections, she challenged him with a choked whisper, “You know I can’t leave.”  
  
“I could get you and Johnny out. No one would have to know.”  
  
“No.”  
  
“Claudia, it’s the only way.”  
  
“Why? Because Sonny’s lap dog can’t do the job? Attached to the trash you’re supposed to take out?”  
  
Jason answered in his silence, the tightening of his jaw and balling of his fists.  
  
“Fine, you know what, I’ll make it easy.” Claudia wiped away tears as quickly as they appeared, refusing to break their locked stare, and put on her best game face, “When you walk away, I’ll forget we ever met. I’ll forget everything, and all I ask is that you do your job the way I do mine – no obligations to whatever happened years ago. Because it wasn’t real – it was an escape, and it’s gone. Feel better now?”  
  
“…I didn’t know who you were.”  
  
“Would it have made a difference? Would it have changed  ** _anything_**  that went down between us? There was a time you didn’t know the Zacchara family existed, and I’m telling you it hasn’t until this moment. We’re two different people, and I can accept we are on opposite sides.”  
  
 _What if I can’t?_  Jason had a tendency to keep questions such as this to himself, guarded by pains of the past and secured by his bitterness towards failed relationships of varied kinds. No family, no friends, and no women without knowing how bad he was at each, becoming aware he would be alone in the end – a bond they had shared, both certain there was no one who could accept who they were with faults included. But, for a brief time, they had everything together.  
  
Now, they were both supposed to forget.


End file.
